"Kill them all!" The voice rose like thunder, shaking the heart of every person watching. The sky had turned dark as if the heavens were closing their eyes to ignore this cruel act. The thunder shook the sky, and the men and women shivered with fear, anticipation, and grief. Olivia was on her knees. Her hands were tied behind her back like every other member of her family. She looked at the man who was going to kill her with nothing but a burqa. "I have done nothing," Olivia shouted, though the voice was drowned out by the roars of the crowd. She knew he had heard her. His eyes told her that. The way his lips curled into a mocking smile, she just knew her pleadings were nothing but food for his vanity. "My nephew and niece had done nothing. If you want to kill..." Olivia took a deep breath. It cut her throat with needles and burnt her lungs. Yet, she enjoyed the pain as if it could lessen the fear in her heart. It could distract her from the tearing of her conscience and her soul, "kill my sister!" "...." Olivia's words turned into another uproar. They all looked at her with shock. She could hear her sister shouting at her, too. But she did not care. She had had enough of the kindness. "I can prove that she is the culprit. I can turn into a witness if you spare me and the kids." Olivia pleaded again as she tried to move, but the bindings made it hard. Her hands started to bleed, yet she bowed her head until it touched the ground. There was no pride or vanity a noble should hold. The man finally stood up. He was their enemy, could be their savior. The victim and the perpetrator. His cold gray eyes looked like a frozen lake, and his white hair that shone under the moonlight was covered with a layer of ice. Olivia raised her head to meet his eyes when his cold dagger touched her chin. "Did you know about her crimes from the start?!" His voice silenced the crowd. Suddenly, every eye was on Olivia. Her heart was beating so loud that she could hear nothing but it. "Tell me, Olivia, sweetheart.. Did you know everything from the start?" His voice was so soothing that she felt herself shivering. Olivia did not shiver with the cold in this ragged dress. She did not shiver with the pain and loss of blood when she was beaten black and blue by the guards. Yet, she shivered under his voice. 'Could anyone be more pathetic than me?' "I..." "Hmmm." Olivia closed her eyes and nodded. The sharp edge of his dagger scratched her chin slightly. The fresh blood did nothing to bring her to her senses. "Hmm, so you knew about her crimes, yet you stayed silent. Hiding a crime is equal to a crime, my sweetheart, rt, and as long as it is about the kids." Olivia held her breath. Perhaps saying them would not be that bad! He slowly held her, and with force, he forced her to stand up on her feet. Leaning closer, he whispered. "It is my last act of mercy that I am killing them. Odo r do you want that sweet little girl to be taken as a slave by those beastly knights?" The voice was like daggers piercing into her soul. The horror of his words finally dawned on her. Yes! Death could be a mercy sometimes. When he let her go, she fell back on the ground. Her feet, her body had long given up. "My lord..." Damon Edward Aykroyd raised his head and nodded. The man stiffened and held the paper tightly in his hands. "Lady Oriana Jennifer Aykroyd had hired assassins to kill the previous duchess of Aykroyd to take her place and had been successful. Not only had she attempted to kill young lord Damon fifteen times with the help of assassins and mercenaries, but failed. The court had recorded proof and many witnesses of the accidentThereforer, the court had decided to sentence them to death. Not only her but her younger sisterLadydyy Olivia Withermoon, and her children, young master Leonard Aykroyd and young lady Abigail Aykroy, would be sentenced to death with her under the law of traitors. From now on, her properties would belong to the duke,o and her distant relatives and personal maids would be treated as slaves for the knights. The Withermoon family would stop to exist from this day on. If anyone has any kind of objection, speak up now. The punishment would be given in ten, nine... one!" Olivia did not have the heart to look at the kids. They have stopped shouting and crying, and at some point. Perhaps, they have accepted reality much better than her. Her eyes kept looking at Damon for some reason. There was no happiness in his eyes, on his fafacedespite getting his revenge, despite getting justice for her deceased mother and her family. He looked.... Hollow. As if there was no soul in his cold body. Did she even have the luxury to feel pity for the person announcing her death? When the announcement stopped counting, Olivia closed her eyes. She has failed to save everyone. The voice was loud and rang in her ear like thunder. The moment "one" was echoed, Olivia felt a large blade falling on her neck and the sharp and cold pain in her neck. After that, everything was dark. Nothing but regrets were left. "If I ever get the chance to apologize.. All I will do is to save him. My killer, my enemy, the biggest victim of this twisted and cruel story!" Goodbye,e Damon," and this is how her weak and hollow life came to an end.